Volume 1 Glacial Relics Chapter 25: Only one round left in the magazine
At this critical moment, two red lasers suddenly fell from the sky and directly pierced through the vital points of the two snow dragons. The huge bodies fell heavily to the ground, stirring up a large piece of broken snow!
Ke Lan looked up and saw a "Raven-class" high-speed fighter hovering right above them. The main weapon of the "Raven-class" fighter, the "Bolvar II Laser Cannon", had just killed the two snow dragons.
"This is the 1019th aircraft of the 9th Rapid Response Team of the 4th Cruise Fleet of the Ark. We are carrying out the 847th search and rescue mission. Unknown persons below please send your identification code within 20 seconds. If the communication equipment is damaged, please wave your left hand three times and squat on the ground with your head in your hands—"
Rescue troops? How come they came so quickly? Ke Lan was stunned for a moment, but he still sent out his identification code. Otherwise, if the pilot identified him as a non-friendly unit, it would be troublesome.
Noah's Ark is not the only human force on Alpha. In the past fifty years, more than 100,000 people have left the Ark. Some of them were sentenced to expulsion, some were death row prisoners who escaped from prison, and some were bankrupts with nowhere to go... In addition to those who were forced to leave, there were also those who left the Ark voluntarily: explorers , speculators, social activists who were completely incompatible with the Ark's philosophy, etc.
On the Ark, these people who left had a unified name - "exiles".
Without the protection of the Ark, it was extremely difficult for the exiles to survive on the dangerous planet Alpha. More than 70% of the exiles did not survive the first night after leaving the Ark, and among the rest, only a few could hold on for a month.
Anyone who can survive outside the Ark for a long time needs strong strength and a meticulous mind, and of course, the most important thing is good luck.
The vast majority of exiles hate the Ark, and a small number of them are even keen on various sabotage actions against the Ark. If a fighter pilot thinks he is an exile, Ke Lan believes that he will press the fire button without hesitation.
"The identification code has been confirmed—" After a brief pause, the cold mechanical voice turned into the driver's own voice, "Are you still able to move? I will lower the rope ladder and take you to the nearest transfer station."
"Wait a minute, we still have wounded people inside the ruins!" Ke Lan quickly turned on the radio and said to the pilot of the fighter.
"Wounded? Inside the ruins? Aren't you hunters exploring the ruins of A-087? Didn't you encounter a plane crash?" The pilot's tone was full of doubts.
"We had terrible luck. The plane crashed directly into the ruins, and we finally found the exit." Ke Lan said truthfully.
"Okay, report the casualties, and I'll have the transit station arrange for medical personnel and facilities."
"A transport pilot and a hunter died. Their bodies cannot be recovered for the time being. A hunter was seriously injured and unconscious. He lost a lot of blood and urgently needs amputation. A level 4 biochemical human was seriously injured and needed to have multiple organs replaced. He also lost his main power reactor. Two others were poisoned. Their conditions are currently stable."
"Got it. My fighter plane can't accommodate so many people. I will contact a transport plane for you. It will arrive within ten minutes."
After the pilot finished speaking, the Raven-class fighter circled twice in the sky and then left.
…
However, what surprised Ke Lan was that the one who came to pick them up ten minutes later was not the "transport plane" as the fighter pilot said, but an "Iris-class" light battleship, which is the smallest of the Ark's main battleships. However, despite this, the length of the Iris-class battleship still reached more than 380 meters, and it was equipped with 64 sets of large turbine engine groups. Its weapons and armor were incomparable to those of fighter jets.
Even Layton couldn't help but say, "This is such a grand ceremony... They sent a warship to pick us up. This is the first time I've enjoyed such treatment."
"That's because you are the only survivors we found in this search and rescue operation." The speaker was a middle-aged officer who came forward to greet them. He was wearing the blue and gray uniform of the Ark's Fourth Cruise Fleet and a military cap. The two winged silver stars on his epaulettes showed that he was a genuine Air Force lieutenant colonel.
"I am the captain of this warship and the highest-ranking officer in charge of this search and rescue operation," the lieutenant colonel added.
"This search and rescue operation... does this mean that there are other victims besides us?" Ke Lan asked.
"Yes, this time there were a total of 17 transport planes that had accidents, all concentrated in this area. Otherwise, we wouldn't have appeared here so promptly... According to the analysis of the staff department, the mastermind behind this series of plane crashes is likely to be an extreme exile force."
"Damn, these bastards have been getting bolder and bolder in recent years. When I was in the army, they would run away from us as far as they could when they saw us!" The Hound cursed angrily. He originally thought that the plane crash was just an accident, but now someone told him that it was most likely a man-made conspiracy. This was really intolerable.
"The details are still under investigation, so don't worry." The captain said, "The unconscious hunter has been sent to the medical cabin on the battleship. The medical conditions at the transfer station are not as good as here. I will send you directly back to the Ark, and a special staff will come to hand you over. By the way, I heard that you also entered the core area of the A-087 ruins?"
"Yes, but there is not much profit. The only thing that looks valuable is a stone tablet, and it is broken." The hound was a little depressed. Although the gains they had made on this trip had far exceeded their expectations, one should know that for any ruins, no matter what level, the first team of hunters to enter the core area all made a fortune without exception. It would not be an exaggeration to describe it as "getting rich overnight". There were many who made enough money to support their retirement and then retired. Compared with them, the gains this time were really not good enough.
"The value of documentary relics fluctuates greatly. Since they were found in the core area, the reward given by the research department will not be low. Well, you guys take a rest here. I still have to arrange the next course of action." The captain comforted the hound and left. For a while, only Ke Lan and a few others were left in the lounge.
Zhuo Ligetu is being rescued in the medical cabin, and Layton probably needs to return to the factory for an overhaul. Ivan and the Hound have both undergone a comprehensive examination, and the toxins remaining in their blood are already very small, and they will be purified by the body itself after a period of time. As for Asano Akira and Ke Lan, most of their injuries are superficial and will be fine with a simple treatment.
"I'm lucky to have a chance to survive..." The hound sighed and stretched hard.
"Actually, I think there are still many questions in that ruins..." Layton interjected, but was quickly interrupted by the Hound:
"Which ruins has fewer problems? How many ruins have we humans been able to fully understand so far? Don't worry about it here. This kind of thing is not what we need to worry about. I just want to go back to my bed and have a good sleep..." The hound yawned and continued, "Well, since we have escaped, the ruins have nothing to do with us. You said I was suspicious before, but aren't you the same?"
…
On one side, Layton and the Hound were still chatting intermittently, while on the other side, Ke Lan sat in his seat, silently checking his equipment while thinking about what happened not long ago.
Understanding the text of the Alpha civilization... this is an incredible ability - he knows very well how much this ability can contribute to mankind... However, he cannot do it.
If he really confessed, how would Fang Ark treat him? Or in other words: how would they " deal with" him?
At that time, his life no longer belongs to himself, but becomes "the wealth of all mankind."
"……well."
At this moment, the movements of his hands suddenly stopped - his left hand was holding a pistol, and his right hand was holding a magazine with only one bullet left.
Ke Lan remembered clearly that no matter when facing the resurrected pilot or when encountering the snow dragon on the mountain, he did not fire a single shot.
And when setting off, the magazine must be full.
When was the bullet used up?
"Um... old dog, have I ever fired a gun before?" Ke Lan looked at the hound beside him and asked.
"Shoot? Why are you asking?"
"Nothing, just asking."
"Ivan killed the infected woman, you didn't shoot...there should have been no Jaw Worms either, bullets have little effect on those things. As for whether you shot or not when you faced that monster later, I didn't notice." The Hound said as he recalled. The monster he mentioned was naturally the pilot who was resurrected from the sarcophagus.
"Have any of you ever used my gun?"
"That's definitely not the case."
...If that's the case, then why is there only one bullet left in the magazine? When did I fire the gun?
